The meeting will bring together the relevant agencies – PSNI, ABC Council and Arbour Housing - as the MP seeks clarity and transparency, following reports that concerns raised by local residents weren’t taken seriously.

Ms Lockhart said: “This is an absolutely sickening and horrific case. Two dogs were abandoned inside a property at Sloanhill Court and have now been found deceased. Reports that the dogs were discovered locked in crates, with signs they had desperately tried to escape, make this tragedy all the more harrowing.

“I welcome the swift action taken by the PSNI, with a 47-year-old man arrested following this incident. The police investigation must now be allowed to take its course. It crucial that anyone found responsible for animal cruelty or neglect must be held fully accountable.

“However, an arrest does not remove the very serious wider questions which remain unanswered.”

The MP added: “Local residents had been raising concerns. They noticed large numbers of flies coming from the property and feared that dogs had been left inside. Tragically, those fears were justified.

“The PSNI, Council and Arbour Housing were all aware of issues surrounding this property. I have therefore sought, and secured, an urgent multi-agency meeting to establish exactly what happened.

“I want a clear timeline. Who knew what? When did they know it? What concerns were raised, with whom, and crucially, what action was taken?”

Ms Lockhart said residents deserve answers. She added: “Neighbours have every right to ask whether more could have been done and if the two dogs could have been saved.

“It is simply not acceptable that multiple concerns were raised, yet two animals are found dead in an unattended property.

“I have spoken with residents, written to the relevant agencies and will use this multi-agency meeting to press for the full facts. Public concerns must never be ignored or allowed to fall between different agencies.”

Carla Lockhart MP added: “This police investigation must take its course, but the wider issue of accountability cannot be forgotten. If there were failures in communication, failures to act or failures to respond to concerns, then those responsible must be identified and lessons must be learned.

“Two dogs suffered and died in unimaginable circumstances. We owe it to these defenceless animals, and to the residents who repeatedly raised the alarm, to uncover why intervention did not come before it was too late.”

“Someone has to be held responsible. I will continue pressing every agency involved until the full truth of how this was allowed to happen is established,” she said.



Ms Lockhart added that the multi-agency meeting will provide an opportunity for the PSNI, Council and Arbour Housing to account for their respective roles and actions, while respecting the ongoing police investigation.